I certainly agree with Lynne in that the best
saddle is the one that fits your horse, and you. That is sometimes
quite hard to find, though! My thoughts on western saddles
are that you definitely would be better served by a lightweight one, and
not a "roping" type of western saddle that can weigh over 60 lbs. I have a
nice part Cordura (nylon), part leather saddle, that weighs about the same as my
endurance saddle. It is a Fabtron, and has served me well over the
years. It was inexpensive, too. I think I paid $350 for it but that
was in 1998. It has held up very well.
To my mind, one advantage the endurance type
saddles have is they do not have a horn. If you do a lot of steep hills,
or mountain riding, getting hit in the belly with the saddle horn is no
fun. Or landing on it if you're bucked off or somehow lose your seat
(ouch!). They're also made with lots of rings and/or strings that you
can use for attaching things to your saddle. That's nice, too. And,
they tend to be fairly lightweight. They're made for distance riding, so
all of those features are considered.
The English type saddles are lightweight, but not
everyone is comfortable on them.
Bottom line (pun intended!) is you just need to get
a saddle you're comfortable with, that will also fit your horse.
Good luck with your saddle search.
